Who Will Survive

Liu Xiaoyu looked at Yang Jian, her eyes filled with deep fear. This fear did not come from Yang Jian himself, but from the Ghost Infant hiding behind him.

Only a few months have passed since the Starvation Ghost Incident, but she still often recalls the entire process of that supernatural event.

Dangerous, terrifying, and desperate—even as a switchboard operator, she could feel the hellish scene. And today, she actually saw Yang Jian with a Ghost Infant beside him.

"You, how could you?"

Liu Xiaoyu felt a chill run through her body. She opened her mouth to ask a question, but the horror that welled up inside her interfered with her thoughts.

Yang Jian knew what she wanted to ask, and simply said calmly, "How do you think I've survived until now? Without finding a breakthrough from the vengeful ghosts, it's difficult for a normal Ghost Tamer to survive one supernatural event after another. Although the Starvation Ghost Incident is over, there are still undeveloped Ghost Infant remaining. I found it, controlled it, it's that simple."

"Are you raising starving ghosts?" Liu Xiaoyu covered her mouth in horror.

Although she knew Yang Jian was bold and sometimes violent, raising starving ghosts was simply too insane; anyone with a modicum of rationality would not do such a thing.

Anyone who's involved in the paranormal world knows this.

Ghosts are too dangerous and terrifying; they are an uncontrollable and incomprehensible eeriness. Let alone keeping one by your side, even living in the same city with them can give people nightmares at night.

Yang Jian readily admitted, "That's right, I'm raising a starving ghost, or more precisely, just a Ghost Slave. Not many people know about this, and I plan to keep it a secret for now. I don't want it to become common knowledge, so you have to keep it a secret for me and not let it leak out."

The matter of the ghost child cannot be kept secret for long. As long as it stays by someone's side, it will be known sooner or later. But as long as it is not known to anyone at this critical moment, it will be fine.

Once you survive the music box's curse, the secret becomes irrelevant.

I, Liu Xiaoyu, wanted to refuse Yang Jian's request. Although I had helped Yang Jian cover up many things, this matter was far too serious.

A single mistake could lead to terrible consequences. According to her work principles, this must be reported; there can be no concealment.

"I cannot agree."

Gritting her teeth, Liu Xiaoyu looked directly at Yang Jian with uneasy eyes, proving her firm stance.

Yang Jian remained silent, only calmly saying, "Every Ghost Tamer has their own secrets. If every operator, like you, reported someone else's secret after discovering it, do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing? I've already resigned, and you're on vacation, so there's no need to follow all the work requirements."

He tried to persuade her, and if that didn't work, he would erase Liu Xiaoyu's memory.

Yang Jian didn't know what the consequences would be if an ordinary person came into contact with supernatural powers, so he would try his best to avoid such things from happening.

"Moreover, this Ghost Infant is not as terrifying as a real starving ghost, and does not possess that level of danger. You can think of it as a ghost that I control, just like the headless ghost shadow."

As Yang Jian spoke, the tall, headless black shadow behind him stood up and walked around the living room like a corpse, lingering around without dissipating. It was like a vengeful ghost that had awakened, uncontrollable, and could kill the people around it at any time, dangerous and terrifying.

He was demonstrating the commonalities between the two.

Upon seeing this, Liu Xiaoyu couldn't help but take a step back. Compared to the ghost child, the tall, headless black figure in front of her was even more terrifying. Before she even got close, she felt the hairs on her body stand on end.

A chilling aura was already spreading through the air and across the ground, as if it were about to seep into one's entire body.

"I... I understand. I'll keep this a secret for you, but... but you have to promise me you'll control this thing. Otherwise, many people will die," Liu Xiaoyu pleaded, her voice trembling with tears.

The ghostly figure behind Yang Jian fell silent, becoming an inconspicuous shadow on the ground. He said, "In this world today, supernatural events occur frequently. Which event doesn't result in death? You think the Starvation Ghost Incident is the most serious? Let me tell you, it's not. As time goes by, the harm caused by any supernatural event spiraling out of control could exceed that of the Starvation Ghost Incident."

"You're my operator and you've met a lot of people, so you should understand what Ghost Tamer really is. To put it bluntly, it's using the power of ghosts to fight ghosts. You think the Ghost Infant is dangerous, and that's exactly what I'm after. This thing is dangerous to the living, and it's equally dangerous to ghosts. If it wasn't dangerous enough, I wouldn't have kept it."

"Therefore, I cannot guarantee that it will not get out of control, nor can I guarantee that it will not kill people."

He felt he needed to refresh Liu Xiaoyu's perspective; otherwise, he couldn't tolerate her becoming his operator.

"You're right." Liu Xiaoyu's lips moved, but after thinking for a moment, she couldn't refute Yang Jian's words.

Which Ghost Tamer these days isn't controlling vengeful spirits to fight other ghosts?

The essence of Yang Jian's control over the ghost child is the same.

The Starvation Ghost Incident had a huge impact. If Headquarters found out that Yang Jian was raising a ghost child, he would definitely be taken away and it would be impossible for him to stay, because he still had the curse of the music box on him and had no capital to challenge them.

He can only regain his power after the curse ends.

Seeing that he had changed his mind, Yang Jian said, "Since you promised to keep it a secret, I'll trust you this once. However, you cannot leave this house between tonight and tomorrow night, otherwise I will take some coercive measures against you. You don't want to go through that."

Despite his trust, he will still take precautions.

"I'll have trouble sleeping if you keep this with you. I'd better go home," Liu Xiaoyu said timidly.

Yang Jian, "If you want to leave now, go back to your room and sleep. If you can't sleep, play on your phone to pass the time. Don't wander around aimlessly, and don't open anything out of curiosity. I've placed quite a few dangerous things here, so I'm giving you this heads-up so you can be on your guard."

"Now that you've said that, I want to leave even more." Liu Xiaoyu was so frightened she was almost crying.

She thought that the place, with its glittering decor and dazzling lights, must be very safe, but little did she know that this was just a facade; the real dangers were hidden in places she couldn't see.

"You shouldn't have stayed in the first place," Yang Jian said.

However, under his persistent persuasion, Liu Xiaoyu had no choice but to tremble and go into a relatively safe room to rest.

Yang Jian led the ghost child to the third floor of the villa.

There was a study and a safe room. He told the ghost child to hide in the safe room and not come out, but just to be on the safe side, he locked the door. Under normal circumstances, it shouldn't be able to get out.

The curse of the music box still echoed in my mind.

But Yang Jian felt extremely tired, as if his body had reached its limit and was on the verge of collapse. If he didn't continue to rest, his body would soon die again, then rot and deteriorate. So he decided to rest for a few hours and wait for news tomorrow.

He wasn't worried about dying in his sleep; with the music box's curse and the ghost cabinet's trading rules in place, he was sure he'd be fine.

This rest was a luxury, like a final sleep before death.

Although it's wasteful, it's very necessary, giving one the feeling of being well-fed and satisfied before setting off.

At the same time.

A suburban area relatively far from the city.

There is a very secret laboratory here.

Despite it being night, the place remained heavily guarded and brightly lit.

In the highest-security area of the laboratory, Wang Xiaoming appeared. In front of him was a special compartment. Through the glass of the compartment, one could clearly see an old coffin displayed inside. In front of the coffin was a small stool with a memorial tablet on it.

There was a black and white photo on the memorial tablet. The photo showed a young man with a frightened expression who looked somewhat abnormal.

"How are the results of Dr. Chen's previous ghost coffin experiment?" Wang Xiaoming looked to the other side.

The man called Dr. Chen was a bespectacled man in his early thirties. He was also the head of a laboratory and was in charge of some projects. Previously, it belonged to the WeChat Moments group, but now, with the collapse of WeChat Moments, the laboratory has been taken over by the Headquarters, and many projects have been handed over.

"It went smoothly, but I'm not sure if this incomplete ghost coffin can suppress all the ghosts inside Yang Jian's body."

Dr. Chen said with some concern, "If we can't suppress them, there's a risk of them getting out of control. After all, Guo Fan an outsider, and without experience, he can't possibly control three ghosts."

"As long as it goes smoothly, it doesn't matter whether we can control it or not. After all, we only have one chance. This thing will be completely useless next time." Wang Xiaoming's eyes were fixed on the coffin.

Because of the resurgence of the Ghost Messenger, the ghost coffin has lost its supernatural essence. Now, not only is the coffin lid missing, but the darkness inside the coffin is also diminishing.

After all, the coffin is just a vessel; the real ghost coffin is the Ghost Messenger codenamed Ghost Messenger.

Without ghosts, a coffin is just an ordinary coffin.

Dr. Chen then asked, "So what are your thoughts? If Yang Jian agrees to your plan, it means his consciousness will enter the spirit tablet. But once his consciousness enters the spirit tablet, you can easily find someone else to replace his body, kill Yang Jian, and create a new Yang Jian."

"So, are you going to let Yang Jian live, or let Guo Fan live?"

Wang Xiaoming said coldly, "That depends on whether the spirit tablet can successfully remove the curse of the music box. If it fails, Yang Jian will still die, but his body can be controlled by Guo Fan. If it succeeds, the one who dies from the Music Box Curse will be Guo Fan. I just made the best choice under the worst circumstances. No matter the outcome, Yang Jian will live."

"In this situation, all he needs to do is stay alive; who survives is not important."

"That's really your style," Dr. Chen remarked.

Wang Xiaoming said, "It's a pity that my previous ghost coffin experiment didn't have this spirit tablet, otherwise the situation would be much better than it is now. Let's not talk about this. How is your other project progressing? I've been paying attention to it for a year, but I couldn't participate because of a transfer. Is it showing results now?"

"It's not bad, it's showing some effect, but not as much as we expected. It still needs some time to improve, but success is only a matter of time," Dr. Chen said.

The conversation suggests that the two may have worked together on a particular project.

"How's the Ghost Painting Incident going? Aren't you going to check on it?" Dr. Chen asked again.

Wang Xiaoming said, "It's serious, but there will be an operation tomorrow. It's a detention operation, but I'm not optimistic because we lack crucial intelligence support. It's just that Headquarters can't wait any longer. I wouldn't have ordered the operation if new intelligence hadn't come out this afternoon, but to be on the safe side, I had someone bring out the Ghost Portrait."

As he spoke, he glanced again at the black-and-white photograph on the memorial tablet.

The photo above has the same style as the photo taken with the Ghost Portrait.

In other words, someone used that camera in the past, took a picture of the ghost, and then left the picture of the ghost on the memorial tablet.

This is a trace left by our predecessors.

There are many similar traces, which are easy to spot if you look closely.

But Wang Xiaoming wasn't interested. What interested him was someone like Old Qin, who had human consciousness but possessed ghostly characteristics.

If this can be done, paranormal events will be completely resolved.